Shaking Hands with Liberty
by Katherine Wyatt
Summary: Edward, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, succeeds to the throne of England upon his father's death. He is only nine and has basically no control over his kingdom, or his own life. What would have happened if he had lived past the age of fifteen?
1. An Introduction

The sound of a fuss downstairs woke little Prince Edward up almost immediately. He had been having a nightmare, of awful things he dared not try to describe in his state of awake, and was thankful to be awoken by the sounds of peoples voices below him, but what on God's earth was the commotion about?

Edward needn't ask more then that, as he stood up from his bed, he soon heard a knock on the door. His chamberlain, who had also heard the disruptions downstairs, looked to the prince and bowed, having barely noticed or heard him rise from his bed.

Edward yawned, cupping his mouth with his tiny, nine year old hand. "Will you get that, sir?" he asked the chamberlain, as he stood in the center of the room idly.

"Of course, your highness." The chamberlain quickly walked over to the door and opened it, though from Edward's position in the room, he could not see whom the very unexpected and rowdy guest was. It was usual, lately, for him to receive many guests at Windsor. He knew his father held him importantly in his heart, and wished to do nothing but protect him from the dangers of other people. He would have expected to see his father, standing at the door, but he could not remember a time in his short life when Henry had ever knocked. He need not; he was the King of England!

The chamberlain turned to look at the prince, inclining his head. "The Earl of Hertford would like to see you privately, your highness."

The thought of his uncle coming to see him had not even crossed Edward's mind. "Very well, let him in, please."

The chamberlain nodded, opening the door to the full extent and allowing the Earl of Hertford, Prince Edward's uncle, Edward Seymour, to pass by him and enter the room. The chamberlain, bowing to the prince, left the room, closing the door behind him.

Hertford looked at Edward with a blank expression, making him impossible to read. Little Prince Edward looked up at his uncle. "Why do you wake me so late in the night, uncle?" he asked, yawning again.

Hertford looked down at his nephew with a serious and somewhat grave expression. "His Majesty has passed away, your grace." There was barely an iota of hurt or sorrow in the man's voice.

He thought he had not heard him right. Edward put a hand to his own ear and leaned forward a bit. "What have you said uncle? I think I have heard you wrong, it cannot be what I thought I heard."

"His Majesty, the King, your father, Henry the eighth of England, Ireland and France, has passed away this morning of the 28th of January, 1547." Hertford repeated himself, this time in a bit more of a seemingly sarcastic tone. "Your father is dead, your grace."

Edward's hand that had been at his ear dropped to his side and he looked up at his uncle, looking quite lost. If his father, the King, was dead, that meant that he would be the King of England, he would ascend to the throne. His dismay at hearing of his father's death however was too upsetting for him to really be happy for his newly claimed title. "Thank you for the information, uncle. You can leave me now."

"You are to come to the Tower, for further protection until we can properly have you succeed your father. Nobody knows of his death yet, it has been kept under wraps until we are ready for your succession." Hertford explained; he was not letting Edward go back to bed, in other words.

"If no one knows, why would I need protection?" he asked.

_Too smart for his own damn good._ "When I say no one knows your grace, I mean that only the staff and physicians who tended on your father, a few member's of council are aware. We must be careful with whom we place our trust in these times. You know that. One of them may leak the information, in which case your life may be put into danger. We will leave for the Tower immediately, I have a litter waiting downstairs."

Edward looked down at his hands for a moment, which he held out in front of him. Though his father and him were not particularly close, he always knew his father had loved him, and wanted nothing more then for him to be the next King of England, but both of them had probably not expected it to happen so soon. He was overwhelmed with emotions, some he believed he had never felt before. He imagined however, that had he been not only barely alive when his mother had died, he probably would have felt the same way, or worse, judging by her supposedly kind disposition. For a moment, Edward began to feel very alone in the world, with both his parents gone. He was thankful that he still had his stepmother, and his stepsister in his life. "Let us leave for the tower then uncle." He said, finally giving in to Hertford's pull. He would have forced him to go had he refused once more, and he was not in the mood to be forced to do anything, nor was he in the position; he was the King of England now.


	2. The AntiSomerset Alliance

Year: 1549

"His Majesty, the King." A herald boomed. The little king, Edward the sixth, entered the throne room looking very proper. He was now eleven years old, but still king only in name. He would not be allowed all the other privileges he should until he was eighteen, which he, as he got older, began to find more and more ridiculous. Edward walked towards his throne, past all the people who whispered _your majesty_, to his throne.

Following behind him were members of his council, among them the Lord Protector, the Duke of Somerset and Earl of Hertford, Edward Seymour, the king's own uncle, and his other uncle, Baron Thomas Seymour of Sudeley, whom Edward found much less like a cold fish, an opposite of Somerset. Both men bowed to the king as they came up beside him.

"Uncles." Edward said to them with a nod. Over the past two years, Edward had grown to develop two very different relationships with his uncles. In the beginning, he had been more of a fan of his uncle the Lord Protector, Edward Seymour. Edward had voluntarily spent a good chunk of his time at Edward's side upon his accession. Edward, at the time, had figured that he was informing him of everything that was happening in the palace, including all major decisions, but of course, as he grew older and wiser, he began to realize that his uncle Somerset was not as reliable as he once believed him to be. On the contrary, Somerset was using the young king as a puppet to get things he wanted. Once the king figured this out, he became furious, though only behind closed doors. In front of his uncle, he would act as if nothing had changed.

As for Thomas Seymour, the baron, a title he had only just scraped away from his brother's claws, Edward had thought originally that his Uncle Tom did not care much for him, as he was always focusing his attentions on his wife, Edward's stepmother, Katherine Parr. Edward adored Katherine and found her very caring and motherly, but he found that after his father's death, and her marriage to Thomas, she was more distant. Katherine had only just recently survived a pregnancy, which had weakened her very much and left her on the brink of death. Edward had been very worried, and had been in constant correspondence with his Uncle Tom to make sure that his beloved stepmother was going to come out of the situation alive. He was very grateful when she did, and by the end of the ordeal, also much closer with his uncle. Though many at court claimed, including Somerset himself, that Thomas was merely greedy and wanted nothing more than to use the king to his own benefit, Edward did not believe them. From his constant correspondence with his uncle, he learned to see the real him, and soon came to realize that his Uncle Edward was the one playing games and not Thomas.

"Your majesty." The two men replied at different times.

Edward watched them both carefully. He was furious with his young mind for being fooled for a full two years by his Uncle Edward. _If only I had made the connections quicker! Now I must think of some way to be rid of him, and of this damn regency. _Edward decided to himself that it would be smart to meet with his Uncle Tom alone later that day, when they could meet privately and without interruption. "What do my lords wish to speak of today? How do my step mama and my sweet Mary do?" Mary was Edward's stepsister.

Somerset was disappointed by the fact that Edward had directed his question at his brother, whom he thought to be unworthy of even the small title he had. He looked impatiently over at Thomas who answered the king with much respect.

"Both Katherine and Mary are very well, your majesty, thank you for asking." Thomas replied, inclining his head a little. He could see his brother grilling him from the side, and it made him happy.

"My heart and I are glad to hear that, uncle." Edward replied wholeheartedly. He then looked to Somerset. "And is my aunt still here at court, uncle? I am not allowed to see many people. You allow me very few visits with even family, while I am the King of England."

"My apologies, your majesty." Somerset said rather quickly. He did not usually fear angering the king, since he was just a little boy, and Somerset himself was more or less the true King of England, in everything but in name, but today he felt a little threatened by Edward's sudden boldness. _Gaining that title would be the icing on the cake…_ he thought to himself, as the idea of the title of king passed through his mind. "Your aunt, the duchess, she is very well, and she is returning to court this week. She has been home for some time, arranging things for the children, marriages and such."

Edward nodded his head curtly, reminding his Uncle Somerset of himself. He was not sure, however, whether he admired this or detested it. "I am glad to hear she will return, my Aunt Anne." Edward lied sweetly. He detested Somerset's wife almost as much as he had grown to detest the man himself. "I am a little disappointed however that you did not tell me about the marriages of my own cousins! Did you not think to run such things by me, and see if I could offer any suggestions?" Despite the fact that Edward did not get to see many guests privately, he still knew a great deal of people and had more influence than most. He could easily have secured many good marriages for each of his cousins, had his uncle informed him of such things.

Somerset let out a bark of a laugh, as if the King's suggestion was deeply amusing to him. Edward did not scowl, nor change his expression at all. He merely continued to stare at his uncle. "Your majesty, I did not need your help to have the marriages of my children arranged! I know just as many, if not more people than you and I am the Lord Protector. Do you not think my word is equal to yours, if not _above_ it?"

Thomas looked at his brother with complete disgust. "Have you heard what you have said to His Majesty? Do you not want to reconsider your words?" He did not care to call him by his title. He was his brother, not a duke or an earl, and he had been his brother since birth, so he would call him nothing but his own name, if even that.

Edward raised a small hand to Thomas. "Worry not, Uncle Tom. I will forgive my Uncle Edward for his foolish words. He has probably spoken without thinking over his words, am I right, my lord?" Edward kept his gaze on Somerset. He raised his eyebrows at him.

"I suppose I have said my words too harshly, your majesty." Somerset admitted, though he would admit to nothing else, nor deny anything he had said. He meant his words, and Edward and Thomas both knew they were true, which made them equally furious. "For that, I apologize."

Though he did not want to let it slide, he knew that if him and his Uncle Edward were to get into a fight at that moment, he could lose any of the few privileges he had left. "I accept your apology, of course, uncle." Thomas looked at his nephew for a moment, questioning his decision, but did not speak up again. "I am to meet with my tutor now, my lords, so I will leave you both to your business if you have nothing else to tell me. I will see you both when we dine tonight."

Somerset and Thomas bowed again, without another word to each other or the king. The air was still and full of hidden fury and unanswered questions. Edward was glad he had a reason to escape the room before he said something he would regret. As he walked out he called over one of the trustworthiest men in his service. The man came running over immediately, bowing to the king.

"Your majesty." The man said quietly as he stood up and continued to walk along side Edward, who was accompanied by some guards. Edward was very quiet when he replied, not wanting to be overheard.

"Will you send note to my Uncle Tom, the baron, and tell him to meet with me tonight before we dine in my privy chambers? We will say 5'o'clock."

The man inclined his head. "Of course your majesty."

"It is greatly appreciated and please, do not tell anyone else."


	3. Death is What They Fear

"Baron Seymour, your majesty." The usher of Edward's chambers announced, bowing to him. He moved out of the way as Thomas entered the room, also bowing to the king, his nephew.

"Your majesty." He said, rising from his bow.

"Uncle!" Edward said happily as he approached Thomas. "I am glad you have come with such short notice. I did not interrupt you from any other affairs, did I?"

Thomas shook his head, smiling. "Your majesty, you are the king, and my nephew, my own blood. I can't imagine considering you as an interruption."

Edward beamed. "Well, I am glad and thankful to hear that, my uncle, truly. I think that in you, I find a faithful friend and relative, which is seemingly hard to find in this day and time."

"Why, thank you your majesty." Thomas replied, blushing a little. To most it would have seemed silly to blush at an eleven year old boy's compliments, but he was the king, and Thomas respected him as so, no matter how everyone else seemed to treat him. "Is there something wrong? Is that why you have called on me?"

Edward tilted his head from one side to the other. Something had been wrong for a long time, but no one seemed to notice or care. "I think that you and I share a common annoyance, uncle."

"I am sure we share many, your majesty, as we are related and probably have quite a few things in common." Thomas replied frankly. "Is it something specific?"

He let out a cold laugh, a dark smile on his face as he spoke. "Somerset."

Thomas opened his mouth and then closed it, nodding his head. "My brother, of course." He felt like he should have thought of his brother right away, but he had always assumed that the two Edward's were close, as the king had always loved his Uncle Edward as a child. "I always thought that you favoured the Duke, your majesty."

"And for that I am sorry." Edward replied quickly, and honestly. He wished he could take back the past two years when he had been completely wrapped around Somerset's finger, without a complaint. "I am sorry that I had not seen the light before. I was blinded by my youth, which still slightly effects my decisions, and my naivety, and for that I apologize to you most of all."

"To me, your majesty?" Thomas asked. "You need not apologize to me in any situation. I must also apologize to you, you see."

"For what, my uncle?"

Thomas sighed a bit. "For being so much like my own brother, your majesty. For being so controlled by my want for power, my ambitions, when realistically I should have been watching over you like an uncle, instead of a power thirsty council member. Your stepmother's near death experience made me realize this, but I should have never had to realize, I should have acted accordingly from the beginning. I am ashamed of myself, your majesty…" Thomas knelt down in plea for forgiveness to the eleven-year-old king.

Edward immediately found himself taking pity on his uncle. He came closer to him and rested his hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I forgive you for what ever you have done that makes your heart and mind feel restless, but I assure you that I am not angry. Like I said, Somerset had a blindfold on me all this time. He told me that you were an idiot that wanted nothing more than to use me for my power, and I believed him. Meanwhile, he was using me as a puppet! How foolish I am!"

Thomas looked up at his nephew and shook his head, taking his hand and placing it on Edward's. He stood up and held the king's hand in his own. "You are not foolish. My brother has played these tricks on many, even your own father." He squeezed his hand a bit and released it. "We have all made mistakes, but we can move past them."

Edward nodded his head. "You're right. I just find it hard to move past my mistakes, when the person who caused them stands in front of me each and every day, and acts as if he has done nothing wrong. In a way, he is _de facto_ King, or at least in his own head. It infuriates me on many levels, uncle, the way he acts." He began to pace a bit, back and forth in front of Thomas.

"Do not let him get to you as he does. It takes practice, but you will learn to ignore him." Thomas insisted, trying to see the positive side of things.

"How am I to ignore him when I must face him for the next seven years of my life? When I must act as if I truly believe he will take my ideas into consideration when he speaks to the council? It is impossible to ignore him! He is like a bug that will not leave me in peace." Edward's tone rose quite a bit as he spoke. Thomas could tell that Somerset was clearly pushing his buttons, whether it was intentional or unintentional however, he did not know. "Excuse me uncle, I have gotten carried away in my banter…"

Thomas shook his head. "It is fine, your majesty. I understand your anger more than anyone else, I would think. As _his_ younger brother, I have dealt with his mannerisms and irritating habits for my entire life. I know how he is, but I see no solution to him until you are of age. He is the Lord Protector, after all."

"I know… I just wish I could get rid of him, replace him, but I fear I do not even have enough power to do so."

"You want to get rid of him, your majesty?" Thomas asked, somewhat surprised. He could tell that his nephew did not like his brother much these days, but did he truly wish to remove him from his position? A tinge of Thomas's ambition came back to him for a moment, but he pushed the thought from his mind. He had just gained trust from his nephew and he couldn't let his ambitious side overcome him now and ruin it all. _Edward's trust itself is worth more than any position…_

Edward put a finger to his lips and smirked a bit. "I would like to, very much, uncle. I mean not to rid him from this earth, but merely from his position as Lord Protector. I need to appoint someone who will give me more control. I may only be eleven years old, but you know yourself that I am smart."

"I think everyone knows of your intelligence, your majesty. I think that is partially what scares the council, to be honest. You are much like your father in wit, and that frightens them." Thomas explained as carefully as possible. He wished not to speak badly of Edward's father, as at different points in his reign, he had done the things a good king would do.

Edward rubbed his chin for a moment. "I understand, but they should not fear me! I will be more of a just ruler than my father, and either way, even with a few more freedoms given to me, they are still more powerful. I would be getting experience; it would be good for me. My father would have wanted that, god bless his soul."

"He would have, certainly, your majesty." Thomas agreed without argument. If Henry could have seen what was happening in his realm now, he would have had a temper tantrum. "But I think that it would be difficult to rid yourself of my brother's presence without good reason. You would have to give the council a reason to get rid of him."

He nodded. "Would they want to replace him themselves, or would I be able to choose a successor?"

Thomas was unsure what exactly they would do. He shrugged a bit. "If you put up enough of an argument, perhaps they will allow you to appoint your own, but I think you would have to frighten them into it, your majesty."

"Frighten them?" Edward repeated, laughing. "And what would frighten them, uncle?"

Thomas bit his lip and looked at the ground for a moment, his words at the rest, but he did not wish to speak. After a few minutes he looked at his nephew and spoke in a whisper. "Death, your majesty. Death frightens the council greatly."

Edward's eyes widened. He was the son of King Henry the eighth, who had taken so many lives in his time, including those of two of his own wives. Though he had been very young for most of this, he knew death well. "You mean… to kill Somerset?"

Thomas shook his head quickly, hearing the worry in Edward's tone. "I was suggesting nothing, your majesty. All I am saying is that death is what the council is fearful of. Though you are not able to rule England on your own, you are certainly able to sentence men and women who commit treason to death, and you are also able to create treason for those who have not committed it. This is what the council fears the most."

Edward began to pace once more and covered his ears with his hands for a moment. "Enough talk of death." Edward begged, standing still and looked to his uncle. He removed his hands from his ears and sighed. "Is that the only way I can get what I want, what I deserve?"

"I do not know, your majesty. I only know what has worked in the past." Thomas said, not knowing what else to say. "Forgive me for not being of more use to your majesty." He hung his head low.

"Uncle, do not ask for my forgiveness, there is no reason for it." Edward assured him. "We are both at a disadvantage in this situation and we must put our heads together to find a solution. If our only option is what you say, death, then we will exercise it as our last option only. I used to assure myself every day, and I still do, that I would be a firm but just ruler. I will not take someone's life for no reason when it is not necessary. There must be another way to remove my Uncle Edward from his position, and we will find it."


	4. Brothers & Sisters

"You look more like father, and your mother, with every day that you grow older, my sweet brother." Elizabeth cooed as she touched her younger brothers cheek. Her red hair was loosely hanging on her shoulders and her skin was pale, but Edward had always thought his sister to be beautiful, and smart. One thing they had in common was definitely their wit.

"Thank you, Liz…" Edward replied, blushing slightly as they stood in the gardens of Whitehall. "Why do you not come to see me more often? I feel that I am very alone here, sometimes."

"Alone?" Elizabeth questioned, removing her hand from her brothers cheek. "How on earth could you feel alone, brother? You are the King of England; you could be friends with anyone that you wished to be friends with! If you were ever bored, you could call on some great musician from half way across Europe and have him come play a song for you! I do not know how you could ever feel alone, or bored, while you are a king."

Edward smiled a bit at his sister's words. She was always an optimist and always so good to him, no matter the situation. "I guess you are right, it's just, I am not truly King yet. I still have many years to go before a time where I am."

"Yes, but you should fight for some rights, don't you think? It's a little unfair, in my opinion, that you do not get more say in your countries business. You should speak to your uncle."

"He will not listen to those types of suggestions from me. He will tell me I am being naïve and stupid, and that I don't know what I am talking about. He says that politics is for men, not boys." Edward told his sister. He hated to be talked down to, not only because he was technically King of England but also because he didn't believe he deserved it. He was smarter than many boys his age. "I hate to be spoken to thus."

"You should not be spoken to that way." Elizabeth assured him firmly. Had she been allowed to stay at court, she would have made sure no one spoke to her brother like that, but she was not allowed to stay there and so the occasional visits she was able to get with him were spent cheering him up and trying to convince him to fight back. "Edward, you are the King of England, no matter how the Duke of Somerset treats you. He is your uncle, and he may be older than you, but he is only a duke in your realm. You know, if you wish to overthrow him as Lord Protector, you could."

Edward sighed and shook his head. "But he would hate me, and when he is angry, I fear what he would do. I'd be pulling all his power out from under him."

"As he has done to you." Elizabeth said fairly, shrugging her shoulders. "You were appointed a regency council upon father's orders, but father is dead and you are king now. You _can_ fight it. You needn't worry about Somerset's reaction when you are who you are. What do you think he will do if you have him removed?"

"Try to kill me." Edward whispered, leaning closer to his sister. "He's a very ambitious man."

Elizabeth laughed. "You think I don't know that well already? I've seen him in his true form much longer than you have, Edward. Somerset puts everything on the line to get what he wants."

Edward nodded his head. "I know he does. I'm ashamed of myself for being fooled by him for so long."

"How could you have known any better?" Elizabeth asked, raising her eyebrows. She put a hand on her brothers' shoulder comfortingly. She could only imagine how much it bothered him to know he had been played a fool for several years and hadn't even noticed. "You were young! You knew nothing but what your tutors taught you and what Somerset told you. You had no choice but to believe what he told you, because you just didn't know, and now you do and you have learned a lesson because of that. People make mistakes, you can't hate yourself for it."

_But I do._ "I am just ashamed of myself, for England's sake. I've let this go on too long."

"People make mistakes." Elizabeth repeated, looking her brother in the eyes. "Don't blame yourself, just make changes now, because now you know what's been going on behind your back and you can stop it."

"But how exactly?" he asked, hoping his sister would have some sort of plan prearranged in her head. She often did this sort of thinking.

"Have Somerset removed from his position as Lord Protector and from there you can either reappoint the regency council, with him on or removed to your liking, appoint a new Lord Protector, someone who you trust of course, or you could fight for more if you really wanted, though at only eleven years old, I am not sure how much more you could ask for. Even if you were sixteen, like me, I don't think you could get away with much more."

Edward nodded. Though his sister and he were both smart, Elizabeth was much better at coming up with solutions on impulse and devising plans. She thought in a more strategic manner than he did. "The big question still remains: how do I have him removed from his position?"

Elizabeth sighed and then shrugged her shoulders slightly. "That part you can figure out."

"Really?" Edward asked, pouting.

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, fine." She said, taking a minute of silence to think. "You could easily bring it up to the council, but you'd have to have a good reason. I don't know how they'd feel about '_I don't like him' _as a reason. Now _you_ can think of a reason. I've done enough thinking for you. You're the King of England! You should be exercising your own mind."

Edward smiled. "Why thank you Elizabeth. I'm grateful, and I'll do the rest of the thinking. Perhaps Uncle Tom can help me come up with something."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes again. "When I said _you_ do the thinking, I meant, _you_ not Uncle Tom, but whatever you wish to do."

He laughed and patted his sisters back in a brotherly manner. "I'm only joking, Liz. I'll figure something out. Now, let's talk about you, my dearest half sister…"


End file.
